IMSA Reduces LMP2 Schedule to Eight Races

When the LMP2 cars started beating the antiquated DPIs the France owned IMSA organization neutered them into a lower class so they won't take overall wins so teams walked

Core LMP2 car

The International Motor Sports Association (IMSA) today announced a refinement to the 2019 LMP2 class schedule within the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship.

Aimed at further optimizing for the market, this schedule revision takes the LMP2 class from ten (10) to eight (8) races. The class will no longer participate at the Long Beach Grand Prix in April and the Detroit Belle Isle Grand Prix in June, with a goal to stimulate further interest in the class. Competitors in the class will continue to compete for both the overall WeatherTech Championship and the four-race Michelin Endurance Cup titles.

The LMP2 class will maintain its separate designation including class-specific number panels, with race procedures, driver regulations and drive-time requirements as outlined in the 2019 sporting regulations released last month. The class now will qualify at the same time as DPi cars at each event.

If there are fewer than three LMP2 entries, only the class-winning drivers and team at each race will be recognized in post-race podium ceremonies. IMSA will continue to award class points toward LMP2 driver and team championships for all class competitors.

“With the start of the season now 50 days away, it is important that we timely share these revisions so that our stakeholders can further evaluate, and plan based on the refined sporting strategy for the class," said IMSA President Scott Atherton. “IMSA remains committed to offering an attractive LMP2 platform for Pro-Am competitors."

The first official on-track activity for the 2019 WeatherTech Championship is the three-day Roar Before the Rolex 24 At Daytona test on Jan. 4-6, 2019.